Condescending people

A friend told me the other day they felt I had profound thoughts on condescending people. I don’t quite see it that way, but I’ll share them here anyway.

Professionally and personally, I’ve dealt with many condescending people in my life. Some are those I’ve known at college, through the internet and some have been those I’ve worked with.

In my observation, people tend to be condescending for three reasons:

One: They are genuinely full of themselves. As a result, they generally are compatible only with passive people or those with abnormally-low self esteem.

Two: They have such a hyper-inflated view of themselves that they can’t see they’re wrong about something.

Three: They’re so terrified of being wrong that they use condescension to keep the truth at bay.

This is probably why, as an adult, I’ve grown to really respect my Dad. Though a quiet person, Dad’s ego is about the size of the dot above this letter i. He has his views but he also listens. When his company tried to throw him a nice retirement party years ago, he declined. I started with this company as an unknown, and that’s how I’d like to leave it, he said.